Endlessly
by PiratePrincess29
Summary: Sequel to Our Time is Running Out. Ten years have passed and it's time for J and E to part but will Elizabeth have it in her to leave Jack? Will Jack ever let her go? Or does true love prevail and do they get to be together forever, as they secretly wish?


**A/N: Hey guys! This is the sequel to Our Time is Running Out and yes, it has a happy ending! Enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney. The song Endlessly belongs to Muse. I do NOT own these lyrics!**

_Ten years wasn't enough but it was what they had and they would take it and give it all they had. Like the selfish, stupid, foolish, love-sick pirates they were._

* * *

In the past ten years, Jack had learned many things about Elizabeth Swann. Yes, she was still a Swann. Marriage just wasn't in their plans, not when they knew that what they had would abruptly end in a decade's time. Still, he had learned countless things about what she thought, what she stood for, how she felt, her morals, her ideals, her soul. She was a beautiful creature with one of the purest hearts he had ever had the pleasure to know. And he loved her. He loved her more than the sea, the _Pearl_, piracy… More than life itself.

She was his rock, his home. Everyday, no matter what was going on, she was there to comfort him, assure him, love him. And each day that passed brought them closer to being separated again, his heart getting closer to death every single day. In all that he had learned of her, he wasn't sure he returned the favor. She was always so open to him about her thoughts and her feelings and he always felt that he was more on guard than she was. He was, after all, Jack Sparrow and one did not get into his mind that easy. After ten years, however, she learned more than anyone else ever had. Elizabeth was probably the only person who knew Jack's real age, that his mother was from Peru, that he had broken his ankle when he was a child. She knew so much and yet the one thing that mattered most, he insisted on keeping a secret. He could tell her anything. He could say he loved her, that he didn't want her to leave, that she meant the world to him but he could not go beyond that.

_There's a part in me you'll never know_

_The only thing I'll never show_

He could not tell her that she was more than everything. She was the single thing his life revolved around. Perhaps she thought that when they parted, he would move on. Maybe go to Tortuga and interact with some of the pleasurable company available there. He was almost sure she had no idea how out of balance his life would be when she was gone. _She can't be gone if ye don't let her go, mate._

_Hopelessly I'll love you endlessly_

_Hopelessly I'll give you everything_

Yes, he had a plan. He never intended on letting her go to save William. He didn't deserve the angel that he could call his. Will was never there for her. He hadn't been there for ten years. How could she just leave and go be with someone who she hasn't seen in such a long time? Was their love that strong? No. He knew the truth. Elizabeth felt incredibly guilty that she got her happily ever after and Will didn't. She may not love the boy as much as she once did but she still cares for him. And Jack knew that Elizabeth would not just let the curse continue. She wanted to set him free. It was the least she could do. And he would let her. He would let her set Will free but the moment his bonds were no more, Jack would whisk her away, take her to the Pearl and sail off into the horizon. A few days after he realized she was intent on leaving, he had decided he simply couldn't let her. She was his only light. If she was gone, there would be no point in living. And although he could not actually die, he would be dead on the inside and he had a feeling that Elizabeth would be, as well. He wouldn't let her leave.

_But I won't give you up_

_I won't let you down_

And he would be there when she needed him, just as he had always been. He loved Elizabeth more than anything and he would love her forever. The bond they shared was so strong! He had never experienced anything like it in his life. She was what held him in this world, his strength and above all, his comrade. They were peas in a pod. They belonged together and he would be damned if he let her slip through his fingers like he had in the past. William would not win this time. Jack loved her too much to let her go. If she could only see just how much he cared…

_And I won't leave you falling_

_If the moment ever comes_

3,650 days ago, Will Turner was killed by Davy Jones and cursed to sail the dark seas ferrying souls to the next world. It was a dreadful fate but better than most. At least he would one day see his wife, he would tell himself. Elizabeth… his beautiful, beautiful Elizabeth. She was absolutely everything to him. Although he hadn't seen her in such a long time, his love for her had not lessened one bit. His love for her was stronger than ever and he could not wait to see her. Finally, the day for that had come.

She would be there and he would be free from this terrible curse and they could live together for the rest of their lives. He wondered what she was like, now. If she had changed at all whether physically or mentally. What did she look like? She would still be beautiful, of that he was sure. She had a timeless face and no matter what her age, it would be stunning. His excitement grew as they broke through the surface and started for the same island they had shared their first and unfortunately last night together as husband and wife. A smile touched his frozen lips.

* * *

Elizabeth was no longer a naïve little girl. She would be thirty-two if Jack hadn't found the Fountain of Youth. Although in body she was stuck as a twenty-three year old girl, she was a woman who had seen plenty of the world to understand how it worked. Her relationship with Jack had grown from a passionate love to something deeper. It was so much more than that. It was difficult to explain but he was the only thing that mattered. He came before she did and she would do anything for him. Except the one thing he had always wanted: her- _forever_.

The truth was, there was nothing that she wanted more than that, herself. But she felt so awful for what happened to Will. She knew that he loved her but she just didn't feel the same way, if she ever had at all. In her newly discovered wisdom, she wondered if she really did love him or if it was the idea of being in love that clouded her mind. Either way, she owed Will. He had devoted his entire life to her when he was alive and he suffered for ten years in hopes that he would someday see her again, the woman he called his wife. She loved Jack more than anything in the world but she could not deny Will this. She could not leave him to suffer an eternity of nothing but death. If she did, she would be a monster. She could not do that to him.

_It's plain to see it's trying to speak_

_Cherished dreams forever asleep_

But there was something in the deepest corner of her heart that shouted, screamed out at her to not make the biggest mistake of her life. Her mind was set on saving Will and making up for the terrible hand that fate had dealt him. Her heart, on the other hand, was not so sure. Jack was everything. Point blank. Jack was her heart and how could she just leave him like that? To do that, she would have to forget ten years worth of memories. Could she do that to herself? To him?

It would have been better if Jack had not been so understanding. She reluctantly recalled the night before.

"_Lizbeth, please listen to me. Let me try…" he paused, stroking her cheek. "Let me try and explain to ye."_

_She walked into their quarters, sitting down on the bed. "There's nothing to explain, Jack." _Please, don't listen to me. I don't mean it. I love you. _"We knew this from the very beginning. I need to save him and if you won't take me there, then I'll find someone who will. You promised me all those years ago that you would. How can you stand here and condemn an innocent man to such a horrible fate?" _

_Jack recoiled, a strange look crossing his face much like the one when she had betrayed him in the cruelest of ways by killing him. "Wouldn't be the first time." he mumbled to himself. "So it's back to the old ways, aye? The both of us fighting for ye. Only this time, he wins."_

"_It's not a contest. It never has been. We worked with what we had." The tears flowed freely now, clouding her vision. She was truly torn. She didn't want to leave Jack but how could she just forget about Will? "No one wins. We all lose. But it has to be done, Jack! If it was anyone else… I wouldn't give it a second thought. But it's Will."_

"_And it's me, Lizzie. I can't let ye leave. I won't." he said authoritatively. "I don't care what ye say, I'm not taking ye there. And there's not a ship out there that can get ye there on time besides the Pearl. I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I can't lose you." He hated to do this to her, deprive her of what she wanted so much, but he was essentially a selfish pirate and he would keep her. No matter what._

"_Don't you see, Jack? I… I love him. I will save him." she said through gritted teeth._

_Jack smirked. "You're lying, luv. Never were good at that, ye weren't."_

"_You'd be surprised how good of a liar I am. As far as I'm concerned, you believed everything I said in the past ten years! How do you know they were true?" she frowned, hating herself for lying. "Everything was a lie. This love is a lie."_

_Elizabeth had to think quick on her feet and the moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it. The look on his face was not worth getting what she wanted. _

_Jack didn't sneer at her or yell or stare her down. He merely nodded his head and left the room as quickly as he could. Elizabeth was left lost and alone and she cried the entire night. Jack never returned to their cabin. _

A few stray tears fell from her face into the ocean as she leaned over the railing, admiring the sunrise with a new perspective. Last night had been just a taste of what life without Jack would be like and it was miserable. Worse than that, it was unbearable. Simply catastrophic. It felt as thought the world would turn into chaos if they weren't together. A pressure in her chest began to build as she spotted the island for the first time. It could not be more than an hour away. An hour…

From the corner of her eye, she saw Jack walk down the stairs with the same indifferent expression as the one he wore the day Will was killed when she left for that same island. It brought back a wave of painful memories and with those memories, tremendous guilt. He was right in front of her and she was already missing him.

"We'll be there soon, Miss Swann."

"Jack…" she began.

"Don't, Elizabeth. Please don't." he turned and walked away and she could have sworn that she saw a few tears gather in his once-warm eyes. He would give her what she wanted.

_Hopelessly I'll love you endlessly_

_Hopelessly I'll give you everything_

Without any hesitation whatsoever, she stealthily made her way up to the helm and shoved him out of the way, gripping the wheel herself and turning it as hard as she could to the right.

"Bloody hell, woman! What are ye doing?!" he shouted, holding onto the rail for support.

She realized that she couldn't hold on much longer without breaking her fingers. "Jack! Come help me. Turn the ship around!"

He hurried to her side and removed her hands from the wheel, holding them tightly in his. "What are ye talking about?! Lizzie, are ye alright?" he asked, noticing the tears in her eyes.

"No." she whispered. "I won't be alright without you, Jack. Forget Will. Forget the curse. Forget every damn thing. All that matters is you. Everything I said yesterday was a lie. This is real, this is so real! I love you more than anything Jack and I will. Forever." she wrapped her arms around him, trying to get as close as possible. "I'm sorry. _So_, _so _sorry. I'll never hurt you again."

_But I won't give you up_

_I won't let you down_

"Oh, Lizzie… Ye could have anything in the world. But I'm never letting ye even think of leaving. You're daft if ye think I'd ever let ye go. It's not even the same island, ye know. Your little island is leagues from here." he admitted, nuzzling her hair, kissing her face, holding her in his arms.

_And I won't leave you falling_

_If the moment ever comes_

The greatest smile he had ever seen crossed her lips but it looked out of place with her tear-stained cheeks.

"What was your plan, Jack? If I had gone through with it…" she asked, her voice still shaking from figuring out just how much this man loved her and how much she loved him back.

He kissed her, holding her lips to his own, passionately taking what was rightfully his.

"I figure I'd maroon ye for a few days, knock some sense into ye. Or… we'd go back twelve years and spend another lovely night under the stars. Just you, me, and rum. I figured that'd be enough to make ye change your mind." he said, his eyes aglow with joy.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." she repeated, her tone extremely serious. "I never meant… I don't know what crossed my mind. Eternity is nothing without you."

_I won't give you up_

_I won't let you down_

In that moment, he decided that he would hold her in his arms forever. He would give her everything she needed, everything she wanted, and most of all, he would love her with everything he had. Forever.

_And I won't leave you falling_

_But the moment never comes_

In that moment, she decided that she would never leave his arms. She would give him anything he wanted, anything he needed, and most of all, she would love him faithfully and she would never spare a thought to anyone else but him. Forever.

And so the hopelessly selfish, stupid, foolish, love-sick pirates lived endlessly-in-love ever after.


End file.
